It is well known in the prior art for a motor vehicle parking brake system to include a light switch. The light switch is triggered by operation of the parking brake actuator to trigger the illumination of a signal light or other signal to the operator that the parking brake is engaged and/or disengaged.
As shown in FIG. 1, the light switch 2 typically has a housing 4 which contains the various components of the light switch 2. The housing 4 is secured to separate the parking brake bracket 6 with a mechanical fastener such as a screw 8. The light switch 2 is connected to the electrical system with wires, cables, pigtails or the like including a connection to a ground of the motor vehicle. Thus the light switch 2 is a separate “off the shelf” component which is attached to the parking brake system during assembly.
While these prior parking brake systems are adequate to trigger the illumination of the signal light during operation of the parking brake, there is an ongoing desire to reduce weight, cost, number of components, and complexity of all motor vehicle systems including parking brakes. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an improved parking brake system which reduces weight, cost, number of components, and/or complexity.